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Bending Stock Handlebar

Tue, 2008-07-01 02:08 — treeliner

Hi All, Newbie here - just got my 1300T a week ago, replaced a Virago 1100. Great ride! Really enjoy the website and have already drilled my airbox and made/installed SS lowers for marked improvement. At 5'8" I also suffer the dreaded "forward lean" and could use longer bars. I'm convinced that if the stock bars could be bent in about 2-3 inches it would at least help without having to spend copious cash. Has anyone tried cold bending the stock bar? Seems to me, having seen chrome surfaces bent in accidents without damage to the finish that one should be able to gently re-shape the bar. Comments?

‹ Installing RSTD Bars and want the Kuryakyn grips ..what will I need? The Steible Nautilus Horn Paid for Itself Yesterday! ›
Fri, 2008-07-04 19:36 — red rocket cruser

Bar bending

I have thought of doing this also but was waiting on someone else to do it first. I had the bars bent on my old 750 specal (still have it). They got bent at work. Parked it where I should have. Got the tank to, that's another story. Any way I took the bars off and made a jig to suport the bars on the welding table and started reshaping the twisted up tubing. They were bent and twisted perty bad. The chrome never did crack and I got them back to the point that I couldn't tell any diferance in them before the incident. The tank had to be replaced. The only problem now would be the left side ISO grip that would have to come off, the throtle grip is not a problem. It would be doable I am sure.
Ron S.

Fri, 2008-07-04 22:39 — treeliner

Bending Stock Bar

Time spent in reconnaisance is never wasted.

Thanks to all who responded! Particularly BTBM for the encouragement to persist in the face of probably good advice - and also RRC for his experience. I'll wait 'til the bike is laid up for the winter so I'll have time to replace parts if I screw it up. I'm really confident that the bend will be so slight it won't crease. And then I'll use the money I save for some Bling! Cheers to all, Doug

Tue, 2008-07-01 02:27 — lstayner

Risky business

I wouldn't try to bend them. If you happen to put a crease in the handlebar, you will go but a new set and be out of riding time for a week or so. I also have short arms in my 5'-9" frame and have bitten the bullet and ordered new white brothers longhorn bars from http://www.phatperformanceparts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=DS%2D... . I also ordered my 8" over cables from Phat Performance as that is what my dealer recommended for length.

DO not try to pull your handlebars back by loosening the clamps to get more pullback. I did this and even though I made sure they didn't touch the tank, I now will be repairing the tank because I biffed it a couple of weeks back and took a little motocross ride, cracked a few ribs and bent the bars into the tank.

Could you tell a difference in performance when you drilled the airbox?

Tue, 2008-07-01 02:19 — larabee

RSTD Bars

I am 5'9" I also had the same problem. Install the RSTD bars. (Royal Star Tour DEluxe) There is a lot of posts about this, and there is one one the instructions on how to do this. You do not even need to change any cabling or lines. I'll tell you the difference is night and day. I feel so much more comfortable. I makes it a different bike. Look into it, read the other posts here about it.

Tue, 2008-07-01 02:42 — lstayner

Handlerbar ?

My dealers mechanic explained to me that the RSTD handlebars are to narrow for most people. What is your opinion?

Fri, 2008-07-04 08:36 — kevin

RSTD Bars worked for me

I'm 5'8" and the RSTD bars got rid of the hand numbing and shoulder aching, for me anyways. No problem to self install. I'm going one step further with the SpeedFX risers that Butch has. ~ kevin

Tue, 2008-07-01 18:37 — born to be mild

Nah - you don' wanna do that...

When I was growing up, our family would go over to my cousin's quite often. A year older than me, we'd go out to play. He'd ask, "what do you want to do?" No matter what my answer was - baseball, football, shoot hoops, his inevitable reply was, "Nah - you don' wanna do that; what you wanna do is..." and he'd put in what HE wanted to do.

My experience with a fair number of dealers goes along those same lines. When I brought up the RSTD bars, that was exactly the line I heard. "You don't want to do that" seems to be a natural response when someone doesn't know how it will turn out.

Fortunately, based on the advice in this forum, I persisted. To my delight, the RSTD bars have absolutely been perfect. Yes, they are narrower: two inches in width (that is to say, not very much). But the pullback is what makes it work so well. And the fact that you don't need to replace cables just adds to the pleasure.

To my current dealer's credit, once he saw the difference, he was absolutely sold on the idea.

SO BE PERSISTENT. I haven't researched how many people on this forum have gone this route - but it's a lot. That many people aren't going to steer you wrong.

PS. Don't forget to order the RSTD bar ends (or go with the Kuryakn grips) The stock bar ends don't fit into the RSTD bars.

Dave

Tue, 2008-07-01 02:53 — larabee

Not for me

It doesn't bother me.